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@@@ With the nation鈥檚 minimum wage stuck at $7.25 an hour, it is no surprise that a of economic optimism shows that 56 percent of Americans say they are falling behind financially even in the midst of an economic recovery.If minimum-wage workers could work a 40-hour week 鈥?which most employers don鈥檛 allow them because then they would have to give them other benefits 鈥?their pay for a year of work would be $15,080.On the other end of income inequality is last year鈥檚 $142 million compensation package to the highest-paid executive in the United States, of Cheniere Energy Inc., a Houston-based company involved in liquefied natural gas.The federal minimum wage was last raised in 2009, and since then inflation has eaten up about 5.8 percent of its purchasing power. The buying power of the wage peaked in 1968 at $8.56 an hour, measured in 2012 dollars.If it had kept pace with inflation, workers would now be paid $10.77 an hour, higher than the $10.10 that President Barack Obama has asked employers to pay and what he is requiring federal contractors to pay next year.Tipped workers fare even worse. Their wages have been stuck at a paltry $2.13 an hour for 20 years.If worker productivity was the basis for determining the minimum <a href=http://www.alportico.net/gosoc.php>true religion jeans</a> wage, it would be $18.67. If it had kept pace with wage growth of the country鈥檚 top 1 percent, the pay would be $28 an hour. Imagine that.Is it any wonder that workers are striking, taking to the streets, using civil disobedience to push for a living wage? Missouri鈥檚 puny effort, tied by law to inflation, is to raise the wage in January by 15 cents, to $7.65 an hour. The state is among 22 that set a wage floor above the federal minimum.Why is it so hard to get this done? One of the main reasons is that Republicans in Congress are intractable on the issue. They contend that raising the minimum wage will reduce jobs, and a supports their view, estimating that raising the wage to the level called for by the president could result in a loss of half a million jobs.But the job loss only tells a small part of the story. About 900,000 people would be pulled out of poverty by a minimum wage hike and overall, there would be a $2 billion positive effect on real income in the U.S., with nearly all the benefits accruing to the poor and middle class, the same CBO report predicts.Yes, a higher wage would likely drive up some consumer prices. No more dollar burgers, perish the thought. A more arcane argument is that a higher wage would block young and inexperienced workers from getting entry-level jobs, because they would be occupied by more experienced workers.Opponents say it鈥檚 better to put <a href=http://capstone.edu.sg/images/gucciusaonlineoutlet.php>gucci outlet</a> the money into education and job preparedness plans and to improve targeted programs, like the Earned Income Tax Credit. That sounds good, but it is unlikely the money saved would actually be used that way.There is data supporting the pro-wage raise arguments, too. Some studies show states that raised wages on their own have seen more job growth than those that did not. Others show that there could be a slight bump in consumer prices, which would be corrected by the marketplace.Holly Sklar, CEO of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, wrote on these pages recently that small-business owners want an increase in the minimum wage because they depend on consumer spending, which is heavily dependent on wages.We鈥檝e all read about how McDonald鈥檚 makes $5 billion a year in profit but tells its workers to file for food stamps <a href=http://www.museosangennaro.com/Public/wdluk.php>Louboutin Shoes UK</a> and other forms of public assistance to make up for leaving the beef out of their paychecks.It鈥檚 not news that Jane and Joe Taxpayer are subsidizing giant corporations with their inflated executives鈥?salaries and demanding shareholders. If they don鈥檛 get the money 鈥?and sometimes even when they do 鈥?the corporations threaten to move their headquarters to another country, look for more legal loopholes to evade taxes or cut jobs.There isn鈥檛 much of a modern-day social contract left. The idea that social engineering via taxes would spread the wealth, help establish a strong middle class and eliminate poverty and hunger, has been crumbling for decades.There is no longer a gap between the rich and poor in America, there is a gulf. The Economy Policy Institute says that all wage increases over the past 15 years 鈥?yes, that鈥檚 right, all 鈥?have gone to the nation鈥檚 wealthiest 10 percent, and that 95 percent of the income gains from 2009 to 2012 went to the richest 1 percent.Maybe all that鈥檚 left are crumbs, but that may be enough to raise the minimum wage to something near acceptable. Employers should go for the $10.10 called for by the president or they will undoubtedly face more pressure along the lines of the striking fast-food workers鈥?push for a $15-an-hour wage. And even that is not unreasonable.
